But to a pair of larger birds, the two doves released in the Vatican yesterday were nothing more than a chance for a bit of Sunday morning sport.

No sooner had the birds been set free in St Peter’s Square – as a symbolic gesture of peace for Ukraine – than they were set upon by a seagull and a crow.

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Go: Pope Francis is joined by two children who release doves during the Angelus Prayer in St. Peter's Square

Off they fly: Francis was celebrating the prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square

Windowsill: A seagull attacks a dove released by a child from the papal window during Francis's prayer

Attack: Two white doves had been sent fluttering into the air as a peace gesture by Italian children

The two larger birds swooped on the
defenceless doves during the Pope’s weekly Sunday Angelus prayer in
front of tens of thousands of worshippers gathered in the Vatican.

After
saying a prayer for Ukraine, where at least three people were killed
during the latest clashes that have seen Kiev in flames, the Pontiff
helped schoolchildren release the doves from the window of the Apostolic
Palace as a peace gesture.

Not getting away: A dove which was freed by children flanked by Pope Francis is attacked by a seagull

Watch out: A dove which was freed by children flanked by Pope Francis is chased by a black crow

Watch out: After the pope and the two children left the windows, a seagull and a big black crow quickly swept down, attacking the doves, including one which had briefly perched on a windowsill

Crow fought the wings of a dove: While speaking at the window beforehand, Francis had appealed for peace in Ukraine, where anti-government protesters have died

Police and
demonstrators in Kiev fought again as protests against President Viktor
Yanukovich's abrupt turn away from the European Union towards Russia,
Ukraine's former Soviet overlord.

‘I
am close to Ukraine in prayer, in particular to those who have lost
their lives in recent days and to their families,’ Francis said in his
weekly Angelus in St Peter's Square.

‘I
hope that a constructive dialogue between the institutions and civil
society can take place, that any resort to violence is avoided and that
the spirit of peace and a search for the common good is in the hearts of
all.’

The mass rallies
against President Yanukovich's rule erupted last November after he
pulled out of a free trade deal with the European Union in favour of
closer economic ties with Russia.

They have since spiralled into protests against misrule and corruption among Ukraine's leaders and officials.

There
have been violent clashes with police in Kiev city centre, resulting in
the death of three protesters last week, two from gunshot wounds.